1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rear body structure for an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional rear body structure for an automotive vehicle, it has been proposed that a rear pillar be reinforced by a rear pillar reinforcement which forms a closed cross section with a pillar inner panel (for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Application No. 61-145078).
In such a rear body structure, the rear pillar reinforcement can receive the reaction force from the rear suspension. However, the rear pillar reinforcement needs to have sufficient length in order to effectively receive the reaction force from the rear suspension. This will result in increased production cost. In addition, in a case where the rear pillar inclines forwardly, this rear suspension reinforcement may be less effective because of its inclination angle.
Japanese Utility Model No. 63-28709 also discloses a rear pillar reinforcement which is almost the same structure as Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Application No. 61-145708. But, this rear pillar reinforcement is connected with an arch-shaped box-like closed cross-section member including a rear bulkhead, a rear panel and a reinforcement. This arch-shaped box-like closed cross section structure has the disadvantage that installation of the rear suspension is difficult because the arch-shaped box-like closed cross section structure blocks the worker's access.